The #13 in Class 4A Pella volleyball team got better as the night wore on in a 3-0 sweep of Newton (25-19, 25-16, 25-12) in the opening round of the regional playoffs Tuesday.

In the first two sets, the Cardinals largely hung in against the Dutch, only for the home team to find momentum after both went 15-13 just after the midpoint. Pella’s serving set the up for success at 89% overall and with nine aces, and their blockers started to really cause issues in the latter sets, getting to 12 total on the evening.

Bryn Higginbotham was 10-for-10 from the back line and had five assisted blocks, and says she was excited with how the team progressed as the evening continued and made critical adjustments.

Mia Warner added 16 kills with a .367 efficiency mark, Jasmine Namminga tallied seven at .294, and Katie Scheckel and Kyli Hiemstra each produced four service aces.

Pella improves to 19-12 overall and next heads to Panther Drive to take on #15 in 4A Knoxville in the Region 5 semifinals.